Calgary takes on Vancouver in the 2nd exhibition match of this young pre-season. While I'd like to say it's going to be a high-tempo, put-em-up, duke-it-out, barn-burner of a game, the general lack of NHL calibre players in tonights Canuck's roster makes me think otherwise. Joe Rullier? Vladimir Kutny? Matt Cooke looks to be the only top 6 forward dressed!
As for Calgary, tonights line-up will feature a few more regulars: Marcus Nilson will see action for the first time since injuring his knee back in April. Damond Langkow, Robyn Regehr, Tony Amonte, Rhett Warrener and THE DION will also be suiting up. In addition, new guys like Zyuzin and Friesen will be playing their first shifts as Flames.
Rookie notables playing tonight will be Andrei Taratukhin, Eric Nystrom, Tim Ramholt, Tomi Maki and Adam Cracknell. I will be particularly interested in the play of Taratukin, Nystrom and Ramholt, so I'll keep a close eye on them this evening. Other guys, like Boyd, Giordano and Godard are also listed although I'd be surprised if they actually see the ice (since they played in the previous contest).
While the outcome of the game will be totally irrelevant, it'll be worth watching for the performances of the aforementioned hopefuls as well as the newer vets - Im hoping I'll be able to assess, to some degree, the potential for guys like Zyuzin and Friesen to make some sort of impact when the regular season play starts up in October.
